PICKFORD — With 5 minutes left in the game and an 11-point lead, Pickford coach Paul Griffin told his girls during timeout not to shoot 3-pointers, even if they were wide open.

The Panthers did him one better: they didn't even shoot the ball, producing a mind-numbing minute-plus of passing and dribbling that would put the most ardent basketball fan to sleep:

Alyssa McCord pass to the right wing to Krysta Wondergem. Dribble. Look inside. Pick up dribble. Kick out to McCord. Dribble. Fake drive. Dribble. Left wing pass to Taylor Miller. Dribble. Pass to the top of the key to Olivia Smith. Dribble. Move to the middle. Dribble. Draw defender. Dribble. Kick out to McCord. Dribble. Step back. Move left. Pass to Miller. Dribble….

Rinse and repeat. It's the old four corners offense, a staple of old-school basketball never seen at the college level anymore and rarely used at the high school level for numerous reasons, one of the biggest is because it's so hard to do. The Panthers ran it to perfection over the last 5 minutes and upset DeTour 42-28 to move into a tie of the Eastern U.P. Conference lead.

"We wanted the layup if it was there, but why shoot the ball when you have the lead?" Panthers coach Paul Griffin said. "You've got to pass and move, you can't pass and stand. We did a good job getting the ball to the middle and forcing them to foul us."

The Panthers (13-5 overall, 6-1 EUPC) moved into a tie for first place with a chance to clinch at least a share of the title next Thursday at Cedarville. The Raiders (15-2, 6-1) host Brimley next Thursday to clinch at least a share of their first conference title since 1994.

The Raiders, who came into the game ranked fourth in the U.P. and ninth in the state in Class D, struggled from the outset and trailed 11-2 before getting their first field goal with 4:47 left in the second quarter.

It was the Panthers' tenacious defense up top, led by McCord's effort on DeTour point guard Alyssa Anderson, that prevented the Raiders from running their usual patient, deliberate offense. Even when Anderson was able to get the ball down low to Nicole Bouwma or Rachel Hoffman, Pickford matched up with Olivia Smith (seven blocks) and Alicia Portice (two blocks).

"Obviously, you have to give credit to Pickford first. They rattled our cage," Raiders coach James Geyer said. "They forced us into some bad passes and some bad turnovers.

The Raiders' 28 points was a season low, less than the 33 they scored in a 33-24 win over the Panthers in January. Portice led the Panthers with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Smith had 11 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.

Page 2 of 2 - "We didn't want them to even be able to get the ball out of the perimeter," Griffin said. The girls really stepped up. We talked all week about getting in good position so Bouwma and Hoffman can't turn on you and get a layup. They beat them to the spot."

The Raiders closed the game to 14-8 before Portice scored on an offensive rebound and an inbounds pass to give the Panthers a 19-10 lead at halftime.

"We talked all week that you can't let down on these guys because they're too good a team," Griffin said. "If you get them down, you've got to keep them down. I told the girls at halftime the first three minutes are going to be the most important of the game."

After an Anderson jumper to open the second half, the Panthers rattled off 11 straight points in just over 2 minutes to take a 30-12 lead. The Raiders clawed back to as close as 11 points before the Panthers went into their stalling offense.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot there a little bit with some turnovers and some bad passes," Geyer said. "That's the most man-to-man we've seen with that intensity, but it's a varsity game, we've got to be able to deal with that better. We did not match their intensity."

Bouwma led the Raiders with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Lindsey Grzesiak had eight points, and Hoffman had nine rebounds.